Ben Hill County
Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Ben Hill County. Ben HIll County, created by Act of July 31,1906 from Irwin and Wilcox Counties, was named for Benjamin Harvey Hill (1823-1882), "one of America's greatest orators." A staunch supporter of the administration in the Confederate Senate, after the War Between the States, he was an influential member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. First officers of Ben Hill County, commissioned Jan. 5, 1907, were: C.M. Wise, Ordinary; D.W.M. Whitley, Clerk Superior Cout; W.H. Fountain, Sheriff; E. Gibbs, Tax Receiver; W.L. Smith, Tax Collector, J.H. Goodman, Treasurer; Oscar Barron, Surveyor; William McCormick, Coroner. 009-2 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1956
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
Ben Hill County was carved from Irwin and Wilcox Counties in 1906 and named for Benjamin Harvey Hill, the celebrated orator who backed the Confederacy in its Senate and later served in the U.S. House and Senate. Its first officers were commissioned in January 1907.
Why it matters
The county's creation reflects the early-20th-century subdivision of Georgia's frontier counties and honors a statesman whose career bridged the Confederacy and the postwar reconciliation.
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Related people
- · Benjamin Harvey Hill
Themes & tags
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